Heimaey on your own: boat, scooter or walk
Reaching Heimaey for €55 by bus, then a €73 volcano scooter, a €88 boat trip or a €345 private walk. Which one fits a short island visit.
The short version
- A shared bus to the Landeyjahöfn ferry terminal is €55 from Reykjavík, and the ferry is booked separately.
- Eyjascooter's one-hour volcano tour is €73; Ribsafari's boat trip is €88 for 90 minutes.
- A private three-hour walking tour of Heimaey is €345 and is priced for the group.
- If you have only one slot on the island, the boat sees the most; the scooter is the cheapest way to see the volcano.
If you are going to Heimaey on your own and want one activity on the island, the Ribsafari boat trip at €88 shows you the most. The Eyjascooter volcano tour at €73 is the cheapest, and the private walk at €345 is for groups who want a guide. Getting there is a €55 bus plus a ferry ticket.
This is for people who book the crossing themselves. If you want one guided day with transport, read Vestmannaeyjar day tour: who it suits first.
Getting there without a car
Reykjavik to Westman Islands bus transfer is €55 and takes about two hours and fourteen minutes to Landeyjahöfn, the ferry terminal. It is shared transport, with pickup or meeting on location. The ferry fare is not part of this listing, so budget for it separately and book the ferry for a time that matches the bus.
The harbour at Landeyjahöfn is shallow and the crossing can be cancelled in rough weather. Don’t plan a same-day flight on the back of this trip.
The scooter
Eyjascooter volcano tour is €73 for one hour, rated easy, in English. You ride an electric scooter around the island with a guide. It is the quickest way to cover distance on Heimaey and see the lava field from the 1973 eruption. It is not a nature or wildlife tour, and the listing gives few details, so don’t expect a long commentary.
The boat
Vestmannaeyjar Boat Tour from Ribsafari is €88 for 90 minutes. You see the cliffs and the sea caves from the water, and in summer, the seabirds. We cannot promise puffins or whales on any given trip. Rough water makes it a wet, bumpy ride, and operators cancel when it is too much. English and Icelandic are offered.
The walk
Private Westman Islands Walking Tour is €345 for three hours and is rated moderate. It covers puffins in season, volcanic history and Viking history, with the guide to yourselves. The price is for the group, so it works for four people more than for one. Languages include English, German, French, Italian and Spanish.
And the full day
If you would rather not organise the ferry, Vestmannaeyjar Day Tour from Arctic Adventures is €250 for twelve hours with pickup. That is long. Check what the price includes about the ferry before you pay.
Which one
On a short visit with limited time between sailings, pick one activity. Doing two back to back in an afternoon is possible: the scooter in the morning, the boat after lunch. That costs €161 together, still less than the private walk for one person.
Our honest take
Take the boat. It covers cliffs and caves you cannot reach on foot, and it is the one thing on the island that needs a guide and a vessel. Book the scooter as the second activity if the weather is fair and you want the volcano.
The private walk is only worth it for a group of four or more, or for someone who wants history over scenery. And if the sea looks rough on the day, expect cancellations and leave a day of slack either side. That is the main risk of doing Heimaey on your own.
